


Flinch

by scrumbled



Series: Moonchild [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Crying, Found Family, Gen, Hugging, Literal Sleeping Together, Misunderstandings, Misunderstandings that Lead To Hugging, Taako Has Feelings But He Can't Let Anyone Know, Touch Aversion, Touch-Starved, and now with:, but it's the good kind of crying, kind of, the kind that (you guessed it) Leads To Hugs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-06 10:21:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8746735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scrumbled/pseuds/scrumbled
Summary: Two thirds of the Boys do some detective work concerning the World's Greatest Detective himself. Touch is how they show affection, and Angus has said he's okay with the punches and hugs and ruffling of hair... but he keeps flinching.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> my first fic! glad it was for these good good boys.

The first time Taako reached out and scrumbled Ango’s curls after a particularly successful bit of spellwork, the boy detective almost jumped out of his skin. He somehow flinched back from the touch with his whole body, the action so violent that he almost fell off of the couch they were sitting on in the library.

“Shit—bubbeleh, you good?”

Angus’s eyes were comically wide, made wider by the thick glasses he was wont to wear during lessons. “Uh, I’m f—fine, si—uh, Taako! Completely normal, I’m good now, let’s get back to lessons!”

Taako’s mouth twisted, one ear cocked sideways, like a cat, and he considered Angus for a moment. A flush spread over Angus’s face, ears, and neck, and he ducked his chin. Taako shrugged, deciding to drop the matter. He wasn’t gonna get into whatever mess that was.

“Mmkay, Agnes, I won’t touch you again if you don’t wan—”

“NO!” Angus shouted, and clapped his hands over his mouth in immediate regret. Taako’s eyebrows shot up. “I—I mean,” he stuttered, and then took a deep breath. “I just… you kinda scared me. I’m good, though, and…” he trailed off, the blush growing impossibly deeper, and he closed his eyes and squeaked out “... it’s fine with me if you touch my hair.” 

Taako took pity on him. Fuck knows what that was all about. The kid was so freaked out now that anything Taako said about it would just make the situation worse.

“You’re good, boychik. Let’s learn Detect Magic next, it’ll help those investigative tendencies of yours.”

Angus breathed out an audible sigh of relief and sat back upright on the couch, pushing his glasses up his nose. 

Dammit, now Taako was _curious_.

* * *

They were sitting next to each other on a bench in the mess hall for lunch. Taako hadn’t directly encouraged this arrangement, but Angus had just sorta clambered up next to him and Taako didn't have the heart to knock him down. They’d just finished a magic lesson after all, and the Boy Wonder was just starting to get the hang of Prestidigitation. Despite himself, Taako was feeling a little proud of Angus, not that he would ever tell him ever under any circumstances in any situation ever. 

(When Angus managed to conjure a mage hand capable of picking up things heavier than himself, he’d glanced up at Taako and caught him smiling the tiniest bit, head tilted ever so slightly. It was as if the wizard had cast Flare on Angus’s heart.)

Taako delicately took a bite of his meal, paused, and sneered at it—”Damn, this needs a _lot_ of salt,” he said, and looked for a shaker. There wasn’t one on their table, but there was one on the table diagonally behind them. He’d be fucked if he would get up to get it, though, so he leaned back and reached for it, unconsciously pressing his whole side against the boy detective. 

Angus froze. Taako did too, when he put it together. He quickly cast Levitate ( _why didn’t you do that in the first place, dumbfuck_ , he thought) to bring it to himself, and separated himself from Angus as soon as was possible without making it look like he was flinging himself away from him because that’s what he was doing and fuck, dude, if he had just THOUGHT—

“It’s okay, Taako,” Angus said, preempting the apology that Taako had actually been about to offer (what the fuck was up with that?). “I’m sorry. I don’t… I can’t,” he said, obviously struggling to get across his point.

“No, motek, you don’t have to explain,” Taako said quickly, trying to diffuse whatever was happening. “Let’s just eat, huh?”

Angus nodded, looking simultaneously grateful and pained. Taako’s brow furrowed, ears twitching in bewilderment. 

“Thanks, sir.”

* * *

Nominally, they were in Neverwinter to check out the reported disappearance of one of the town’s officials. Really, though, the whole expedition was Magnus and Ango getting Candlenights presents for everyone. About thirty minutes in, Magnus suggested going into the Buck’s Star, and Angus looked up at him wide-eyed in shock and giddiness. “You really mean it?” he said, a smile spreading across his face.

“‘Course,” Magnus said. “You’ve been making moon-eyes at the store for the past minute and a half, and I’m craving something hot myself, so why shouldn’t we go?”

“No reason at all, Magnus, sir!” Ango squeaked, now beaming. He rushed ahead, and Magnus had only a moment to ponder why he’d acted so weirdly when he realized that the boy was about to run into the path of an oncoming wagon. He reacted immediately, reaching out and scooping up Angus in his arms to get him out of danger. The wagon careened past much too quickly, earning several remarks from other wagon drivers. 

“Damn, that was close,” Magnus said as he gently set Ango down. It was weird, though—Angus’s knees buckled under him when his feet hit the ground, and he reached out to regain his balance, but he flinched away from actually touching Magnus’s arm. When he was properly situated on the ground, he brushed some nonexistent dirt off of his khakis, and his hands shook the whole while.

“You… okay, Ango?” Magnus asked, at a loss. 

“Yeah, I’m—I’m fine, it just scared me,” Angus said with an oddly flat tone to his voice. 

“Let’s… let’s get those—uh, the drinks, huh sir?” he said, glancing up. He looked… dazed, like he’d been hit in the head.

“Okay,” Magnus said softly. 

They got the drinks without incident (peppermint cocoa with extra marshmallows for Angus, but because Magnus was an adult he refrained and just got cocoa with the regular amount of marshmallows). And sure, Angus smiled and all, but it wasn’t until they walked into a gift shop that the boy stopped acting so damn skittish. He had good reason—the place was packed floor-to-ceiling with the shiniest, most attention-catching trinkets a person could dream up. The both of them spent five minutes just walking around and staring, eyes wide as saucers. 

“Man, what can we get them that they’ll like? There’s all kinds of shit in here,” Magnus said, staring at a toaster that promised to toast “CAN’Ttrip” into a piece of bread.

“I… wow, there’s a lot of stuff,” Angus said in lieu of an answer, picking up an ice cube tray that made snarling-orc-face-shaped ice cubes. “Whatever we’re gonna get them, I don’t think we’ll find it in here, though,” he said, looking around at all of the useless items around them.

“You’re right,” Magnus sighed, putting down the bag shaped like a rearing wyvern. 

Well, might as well enjoy the scenery. “Hey, wanna go outside and look at the decorations?”

Angus was nodding before he finished the question.

* * *

“Okay, what abilities do we have at our disposal?” 

Neither of them were actually looking at the lights, anyway. They needed gift ideas ASAP.

“I can carve wood, and you… can do that good good magic.”

Angus nodded, lips pursed and brow furrowed in intense thought. “This is true. We can work with this. You can make something out of wood and I can enchant it so it’s made more effective. Now, people usually like gifts that pertain to their interests. What do we know that Merle and Taako care about?”

“Merle likes… drinking. Uh… casting Zone of Truth.”

Angus wheeled around. “What about his Bible?”

“That might be good,” Magnus said, stroking his sideburns. “What can we make that… like, has to do with the book?”

“A… ooh! What if we make a little case for it, so it doesn’t get damaged? And… and I can enchant it so it doesn’t warp with the weather, and make it really light so he can keep it in his bag and it doesn’t weigh him down!”

“Ango, that’s it, my dude!” Magnus cried, pointing skyward. “You detectived that shit right out! That was really good!”

Angus flushed beet red and actually kicked at the dirt under the praise. “Thank you,” came his response, spoken so quietly Magnus almost missed it.

“Uh…” the kid said, obviously trying to change the subject. “What about Taako’s gift?”

“Well, what does he like?”

“Magic,” came the immediate response. “He likes… nail polish, makeup… making fun of me, holding my books over my head with Levitate,” his voice got quieter and quieter, and Magnus frowned as he went on. “He likes rolling his eyes at me, calling me by wrong names, making fun of my clothes, stealing my stuff and hiding it from me, not responding when I tell him I love him…” Angus trailed off, sounding dejected.

“Hey, look at me, Angus.” Oh _shit_ , those were tears. “Hey, hey, hey, do you think Taako doesn’t love you?”

Angus sniffed and shrugged one shoulder. “He doesn’t act like he does.”

“That’s his whole thing, Ango,” Magnus knelt down, voice softening. “He has a really hard time showing emotion in normal person ways, so he shows people he loves them by doing stupid shit.”

“Okay,” Angus said, wiping his nose with his handkerchief (because of _course_ he had a handkerchief).

“Angus, do you think Taako and I are good friends?”

“Oh yes, Magnus, I think you’re best friends!”

“He still makes fun of me _all the fucking time_. He calls me stupid and he gets mad when I save his life and he rolls his eyes at me, too, but I don’t get mad because I know that’s his way of telling me that he loves me.”

“Do you… do you think…” 

“Yeah, Ango." Magnus said, knowing exactly what Angus couldn't say. "I know Taako loves you. He wouldn’t… oh gods, are you alright?” By the end of “loves you,” the tears came running down Angus’s face with full force.

“I—I—I—I’m okay,” he said, obviously not okay.

Magnus didn’t know what else to do—he reached out and pulled the boy into his arms. Angus’s sobs redoubled as he curled in closer to Magnus’s chest.

“You’re…” Magnus said, trying desperately to come up with something to say. “You’re okay, Ango. You’re alright. You can cry, it’s okay, we all love you just the same. Even Merle. He loves you too, he’s just even shittier at showing it than Taako. Everyone who knows you loves you, how could they not? You’re so important to the Bureau and to us. You’re like the kid that none of us have.”

“You—you really mean it?” Angus mumbled somewhere in the vicinity of Magnus’s neck.

“I really mean it.”

Angus's voice cracked when he said “I love you, Magnus.”

It took every ounce of strength Magnus had to not let his voice crack too when he replied, “I love you too, Angus.”

Angus sniffled a couple of times before drawing away, wiping at his face with his handkerchief. “I’m s—sorry for getting my boysnot all over your—your shirt,” he said, voice still wavering. 

Magnus let go of Angus to look at his shirt, surveying the surprisingly small amount of damage done. 

“Ah, it’s okay. This shirt has definitely seen worse.”

He reached out to clap Angus on the shoulder good-naturedly, as he must have done a thousand times with other people. This time went wildly differently, though—Angus seemed to squish out of the way of Magnus’s hand, so it just went sailing through the air. The arm dropped to Magnus’s side, and he frowned. Angus’s shoulders visibly tensed up and he scooted away a little, uncomfortable now. Magnus stood up, thoroughly confused.

“Hey, Ango, you still wanna look at lights?” he said, because that's exactly what he didn't want to say, _curse you, you shit brain, can't you be HELPFUL for ONCE_ —

“Sure, si—uh, Magnus.”

* * *

They must have walked through the city for half an hour chatting idly about unimportant things when suddenly, Angus halted mid-step, and Magnus had to do a weird leaning move to avoid hitting the small boy.

“Cutting boards,” he said, looking straight ahead.

“What?”

“Enchanted wooden cutting boards! You can make them, and I can enchant them so they don’t scratch!”

“Ango, what the shit are you talking about?”

Angus turned to face him, eyes wide. “Taako’s present! I was thinking about things he likes, and he likes cooking, even though there’s something up there that he won’t tell me, and I was thinking about cooking implements, and—”

“Holy _fuck_ , Angus, that’s _perfect_!” Magnus interrupted, raising his hand for a massive celebratory high five.

Angus flinched again, ducking and covering his head with his arms so he presented an even smaller target. Almost at the same time, however, he realized what was happening and so just as suddenly as he’d curled up he unfolded and tentatively papped Magnus’s hand, which had lowered significantly. “Uh—uh, you, uh, could,” he said, trying to distract from whatever the fuck had just happened, “you could… carve the cutting boards! Make designs on them, like the Bureau logo and the… some jewels because he likes those or maybe a rose because—”

“Angus, I’m sorry,” Magnus offered, trying to staunch the nervous tide.

“—you’re good at those—uh, you don’t… you don’t have to apologize. I should be the one who’s sorry, Magnus.”

“No, it’s—” Magnus broke off, because he honestly had no idea what in the shit to say. He sighed. “Ango, I’ve had a great time today. Do you want to go back to the moon and work on those presents?”

“Yes, sir.”

* * *

As soon as they were on the moon Magnus split off “to go get my woodworking tools, meet me in the common room by the library in 10,” and immediately sought out Taako. Maybe the wizard would have some idea of what was going on with Angus.

He found him in his room, reading a book on transmutation. Taako looked slightly startled when Magnus rushed into his room, but his expression quickly grew indignant when Magnus said he’d gone planetside with Ango.

“Hey, yeah, quick question—what is Boy Wonder’s _fucking damage_?” he hissed, dropping the book and leaping up from his bed. “He keeps giving me mixed messages!”

“Holy shit, me too!”

“Yeah, I touched his hair one time and he fucking flipped shit—”

“Yeah! I pulled him back from the road—”

“—and then I like went to grab some salt and the fucker went all Stone Skin on me—”

“—I grabbed him and he looked like I’d punched him in the _face_ —”

“—and I have no idea what the fuck is going on—”

“—I went in for a high five and he flinched like I was gonna hit him!”

“—so if you have any—wait, _what_?”

“Yeah, yeah, I lifted my arm up to give him some sugar and he fuckin’ curled up into a ball like I was gonna Railsplitter his ass!”

Taako’s eyes went dead and his back stiffened ramrod straight. His ears flicked back, catlike. His eyes were still half-lidded like usual but anyone with half a brain could see the almighty rage lurking there.

“I may have an idea.” 

He didn’t sound like Taako. He looked up at Magnus, and in response to his questioning stare Taako bit out: “His parents.”

“What does—oh _shit_.”

“We need to go right the _fuck_ now!”

“He’s in the common room!” Magnus tossed over his shoulder, already out the door.

* * *

They hadn’t planned on what to say. They both rushed into the common room to see Angus curled up on a couch by the fireplace, blanket wrapped around his legs, a book in his hand. He looked up, eager to begin, but he quickly frowned in confusion as they both approached.

“Uh, h—hello, sirs?”

They looked at each other, now realizing they had no idea what the fuck to say. Taako slowly moved to sit on the other end of the couch, Magnus following and sitting on a coffee table near the couch. Angus’s head swiveled between them, a crease between his eyebrows.

“What’s… what’s happening?” he asked, trying to work out the solution.

“We wanted to know…” Magnus started, looking to Taako for support. To his consternation Taako looked just as bewildered as himself, _oh thanks, great help there, Mr. Best Wizard Of All Time_. “Do… you—do you want us to touch you or not?”

“ _What_?” Angus asked, dropping his book.

“You… uh,” Magnus trailed off, frantically trying to get Taako to speak his piece.

“You… you haven’t been consistent, bubbeleh,” Taako said. “You told me it was okay to touch your hair, but you keep… flinching, and we don’t want to touch you if that’s not okay with you—”

“I swear it’s okay with me!” Angus cut in, raising placating hands. “I… it’s just—when, when I was a littler boy, uh…” 

Magnus and Taako exchanged looks. Magnus spoke up. “You don’t have to tell us the story if you don’t want,” he started, but Angus was shaking his head frantically.

“No, I _want_ to tell you, I just don’t know how,” he said, sounding frustrated. He ran his hands through his hair.

“When I was a littler boy I was sick a lot. Almost all the time. I’d get sick, I’d get a spellcure, and then three weeks later I was sick with something else. They used to… prod me, poke me, trying to figure out what was wrong. They made me sit still for hours while they tried all these spells to find out what was wrong, and it was… not fun. I taught myself to read at a healer’s place when I got a bad version of mindbane. I kept seeing things that weren’t there, so at least in a book I had control over my imagination. It was… not the best life for a little boy like me.

“Turns out one of my distant cousins wanted our family’s fortune, so they hired an extremely powerful sorcerer to make me sick so they could inherit. I kept getting better, though, so eventually they got fed up with it and sent us a box with a mallow flower in it, cursed to give mallow blight to the first ten people to look at it. Mallow blight is… really nasty. It killed my parents and one of my uncles and all of the head servants in our house, but I was sick when they got it, so I never saw the mallow. After… after, I had to go to one of my relatives, and she was a good caretaker, but she… pinched me… all the time. Not anywhere gross!” he added, seeing Taako’s murderous expression. “It was just her way of showing affection I guess? She’d pinch my cheek every morning, and when I came home from school, and when I did good, and when I did something wrong she’d grab my shoulder and pinch, and when she wanted to get my attention she pinched my arm, and I lived with her for… years. So I… learned how to avoid her.”

Magnus nodded and leaned forward. “You don’t—uh, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to answer this, but, uh… why did you flinch so bad… in Neverwinter?”

“Oh, the other kids in school used to beat me up because I was a tiny boy,” Angus said blithely. “I read about it—it helped them feel in control of their surroundings, and I understand that, even if I don’t approve of the methods, so I forgive them. I’m just… not out of the habit yet of flinching and why are you looking at me like that?” he said, because Taako’s eyes were shining and his hand was over his mouth and Magnus was shaking his head in openmouthed awe. 

“You’re just…” Magnus began, and then shook his head again. “Ango, can I please hug you, because you’re literally the best boy?”

Angus _beamed_. “Uh I’m not sure if I’m literally the best boy but sure you can hug me!” he said as Magnus knelt on the floor by the couch and drew him close. They held the position for a couple seconds before they heard an “Ah, fuck it,” from the other side of the couch and another set of arms wrapped around them both, much thinner than Magnus’s. 

“You know what, Angus?” came Taako’s voice, muffled because he was talking through Magnus’s shoulder. “You’re a good kiddo.”

“Aww, sir, don’t get all mushy on me now,” said Angus, voice wavering through the smile that threatened to split his face in half.

And sure, it was an awkward hugging position, and sure, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room, and sure, it wasn’t the most neat or perfect of hugs, but _damn_ if it wasn’t exactly what they all needed.


	2. disproportionate amount of crying and hugs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Boys each have their own way of showing Angus he's one of them now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know i said i would post this monday but it's 12:06 and that's not that big of a time difference right? right?? 
> 
> i made it extra sappy to make up for that though

“Hey Ango, you wanna help me carve this flower?” Magnus called over his shoulder to where the Boy Wonder sat on an armchair, flipping through a tome of magic that was bigger than he was.

“O—okay, if you’re sure,” Angus said as he padded over. Ducking under the open flap of the Pocket Workshop, he was greeted by the sight of Magnus, apron on, hair in a ponytail. He hopped up on a chair so he could reach the surface of Magnus’s workbench, and gasped. 

“Oh my gods, Magnus, this design is beautiful!” Angus breathed as he traced a finger over the penciled lines sketched on the plank of wood. Several roses entwined together, spreading their petals corner to corner on the cutting board. “You want _me_ to… to help you carve it?”

“Sure,” Magnus said easily. “No better time to learn than right now.”

“Wh—well what if I mess up and I ruin it and you have to make a whole new one and it's terrible and—”

“Whoa, Ango, calm down. Look,” Magnus said, turning towards the boy. “Look at me.”

Angus, kneeling on the chair, scootched so he was facing Magnus. Slowly, so he could see every movement, Magnus placed a gentle hand on each of Ango’s shoulders.

“There’s no such thing as a perfect carving. With each piece, something will go wrong, no matter how careful you are. You’re a living being, you're gonna make some mistakes. Hey, don't give me that look—it's okay, alright? It's good to make mistakes sometimes, because it helps you do better in the future. You can't do anything really wrong, you can only do things not according to the original plan. We do that all the time!”

Magnus smiled, waiting for the tiny answering smile before he let go of one shoulder and gesturing to a stack of wood planks in a corner of the workshop. 

“And hey, if you _really_ fuck up, we got backups!”

Angus laughed, still shuddery, and turned to the task at hand. Magnus picked up a tool. 

“Ok, what I want you to do is cut a gouge around this petal. All it is is a line around the flower, to help with the next step…”

Magnus kept up a steady stream of low commentary as he wrapped Angus’s hands around the gouging tool and wrapped his own hands around Angus’s. He spoke about the woodgrain, the texture of the wood, the direction of the cut—anything at all, really. It was like gentling a horse. Didn’t matter what you said so long as it was low and comforting and encouraging. It's how his mentor taught him… and he cut that thought off as quickly as possible.

This was… nice. It was good to have someone to teach his craft, someone who would gain from his vast store of knowledge. Actively, it seemed, for every once in a while Angus asked a question about the work, always well-worded and completely topical. The kid was bright, Magnus realized. Of course, he’d known this before, but it had never really sunk in just how intelligent he was until he asked 

At one point, he had to turn for a cut in a different direction, and in order to do so he wrapped an arm around Angus’s skinny shoulders to reach. As soon as he did it he paused momentarily, expecting Angus to stiffen, but he actually relaxed back into the touch. 

_Hell yeah_ , Magnus thought, and he got so distracted himself that he was about to make a cut in a direction that could have split the wood when Angus gently interrupted with an “Uh… this way?”

Magnus stopped, realizing. “Well damn, Ango, you're right. Thank you, that could have ended really badly.”

“Thanks, sir,” the boy mumbled, and continued carving, the right way this time. 

And so Angus, guided by Magnus, carved a rose out of nonliving wood. Magnus blew away a shaving from the edge, and let go of Angus’s hands. “Alright, how about you go find the spell and I’ll keep goin' with the good work you started here?”

Angus wiped his hands together and hopped off of the chair. “Okay!” he said, and walked out of the Pocket Workshop to get his book.

“Hey, Ango,” called Magnus. Angus turned. “Bring the book in here, okay? It’s warmer. Wouldn’t want you catching a cold.”

Angus smiled softly, and both of them knew it wasn’t because of the temperature that Magnus wanted Angus close.

* * *

Merle had kind of made peace with the fact that the boy was going to follow him on every visit to his kids. He didn’t know how Angus found out when he was going, let alone where. He didn’t even know how he got there. All Merle knew was every time he went planetside, Angus would pop out of an alleyway and join him on his walk to and from the park. On one such occasion late at night, they were walking in (precious and rare) silence down a kind of narrow alleyway that they’d traveled before when a man popped out from behind a corner.

“Shit,” Merle grunted, unconsciously pulling Angus behind him. Angus went quietly, peeking out slightly from behind Merle’s cloak. He knew what would happen.

The man pointed a wand straight at Angus’s face. “Give me all your cash and your son won’t get hurt.”

“Okay,” Merle said, and cast Flame Strike. They technically weren’t supposed to use offensive magic within the bounds of the city, but the other guy started it. Angus opened his mouth to deliver congratulations when a hand reached around and covered almost his entire face. Another arm wrapped around his torso and yanked him away from Merle.

Merle whipped around to face a huge humanoid creature—he couldn’t make out any of the facial details because of the shadows—and readied another spell. The man on the ground coughed and pushed himself up from the ground slowly. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he ground out, holding one of his sides.

“Why not?” Merle said, hands still out in a defensive position.

“Because it ain’t just us two, idiot.”

The thing holding Angus glanced up. Merle’s eyes followed, to see a lithe person bracing themself on the roof above, arrow trained directly on Merle.

“Damn, Craig,” the first guy said offhandedly, “we gotta start using you as the mugger. I don’t have enough health for this shit. Hoo, baby. Alright, dwarf,” he said, recovering, “we got ya surrounded. Now give us all your shit.”

“Hey, Merle, where’d you get to?” came Magnus’s voice from outside the alley. _What in the shit?_ Merle thought—Magnus couldn’t be here, couldn’t know where they were! Merle looked at Angus in bewilderment, and the boy proceeded to execute the worst wink Merle had ever seen. Just… just the honest-to-gods worst. Angus’s brow furrowed, and it looked like he was talking behind the hand— _oh right, he knows magic_ , Merle thought. Damn, but he was a cheeky bastard. If he'd failed that casting they would have been up shit creek. 

“Uh, just a second, Magnus,” Merle called, playing along with the charade. The would-be robber turned sharply, eyes wide as he realized that he wasn't the only one with backup. From above, where the rogue was hanging, came a harsh shout-whisper: 

“Holy _fuck_ , Magnus as in Magnus _Burnsides?!_ The folk hero?! Kostrel, we gotta _split!_ If that was Magnus, _then this is Merle FUCKING HIGHCHURCH and his kid!”_

Kostrel’s face blanched and his eyes went wide. “Oh, _shit_ ,” he breathed, and smiled nervously. “Uh, we, uh—you… we just wanted to… say hello! Uh, uh,” he stammered, and then noticed Craig still holding Angus. “Craig, _put the kid down and let’s get out of here,_ ” he hissed, backing down the alley away from where the voice was coming from. 

“Merle, is there someone there with you?” came Magnus's voice again, closer this time. Craig put down Angus simultaneously as quickly and as gently as was possible. The three bandits cleared the area within seconds. 

Merle waited a long moment, until he couldn’t see or hear any trace of the bandits. He turned to Angus. Aww shit, he was beaming fit to burst. “Nice one, kid,” Merle said, reaching out to fluff Angus’s hair. 

“Thanks, Merle sir! That was really scary!” Angus replied, breathing hard. 

“Well, you did a great job,” Merle admitted, somewhat reluctantly because he knew the kid would take it _way_ out of—

Angus gasped. “You mean it?!”

Fuck. Well, he was in deep now. In for a penny, in for a pound. 

“Yeah, Angus. That was really good,” he sighed, looping an arm around Angus to guide him out of this gods-damned alleyway. 

Several minutes later, Angus tilted his head up to face Merle. “Hey, Merle?”

“Yeah?”

“You didn't correct them when they said I was your son.”

“... Yeah?”

Angus hummed, drawing closer to the arm still draped across his shoulders. “Thank you. That means a lot to me. And—” he broke off, obviously considering something. Taking a deep breath, he said, “You don't have to say it back, but I love you.”

“Hey now, let’s not get crazy here,” said Merle, studiously ignoring that his first instinct had been to tell Angus he loved him too.

* * *

Angus deliberated for fifteen minutes outside of Taako’s door. He… well, as embarrassing as it was, he’d had a nightmare, and he couldn’t go back to sleep and he wanted to make sure Taako was okay, but he didn’t want to disturb him because gods knew how that was going to turn out. Angus had his hand out, fist ready to knock, when to his utter surprise Taako himself opened the door. Angus jumped about three feet in the air and the sound he made… it was a borderline squeak. “Uh,” he said, when he could speak again.

“I’ve got _ways,_ ” the elf said sleepily, raking a hand through his hair and yawning. “Now come on in, pumpkin, let’s get you situated.”

Angus didn’t really know what to do, so he just hung out by the door. He’d been inside of Taako’s room before, but only during the day. By night, a small alchemical lamp hung in the corner, casting a glow just bright enough so Angus could make out some of the details.

“You want marshmallows, zeisele?” called Taako over his shoulder as he made his way… somewhere.

“Uh, sure,” said Angus, because who was he to turn down marshmallows?

He heard a _whoosh,_ and then Taako reappeared, easily stepping around the piles of junk strewn everywhere, and handed a mug of gently steaming something to Angus.

“Had that on hand for a while now,” Taako said, waving a hand at the light, which brightened enough for Angus to see the whole room. Taako walked towards his bed. “It’s always a good idea to have emergency cocoa on hand. Had to heat it up with a little bit of magic, but it’s still good.”

Angus took a sip and wow—”That’s not just good, it’s heavenly, Taako!” he said, making sure to keep his voice down. 

“Well, what are you doing drinking the ‘heavenly’ concoction all the way out in the stratosphere? Got a blanket for ya over here.”

Angus scampered forward, taking care not to trip and spill any of the precious cocoa. 

“Here,” Taako murmured, and then took the mug from Angus’s hands, which Angus was momentarily sad about before Taako pulled literally the softest blanket Angus had ever felt around his little body. It was amazing—it was like what he imagined clouds would feel like before he found out they were water. Taako sat on the bed.

“A bad dream, huh?” he asked, picking up the cocoa again and taking a small sip before passing it to Angus. The boy nodded. “I just… wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Taako hummed. “Well, if you came this far, you might as well stay a while. Snuggle up,” he said, scooting over and laying with his back against the headboard. Angus clambered up carefully, blanket in one hand, cocoa in the other. Once he was sitting next to Taako, safely swathed neck-to-toe in the miracle blanket, he took several sips of the cocoa until it was just sludge in the mug. He opened his mouth and took a breath like he was going to say something, but he hesitated.

“Spit it out, Agnes, I don’t mind,” Taako said.

“I just…” Angus began. “It’s just that—are you really okay? Like… are you alright?”

Taako blinked, and one ear cocked. “Of course I am, Ango. Here—” he reached out, draping an arm over Angus’s shoulders and taking his cocoa with the other hand. “Listen to my heartbeat.”

Angus put his ear to Taako’s chest, and sure enough, he heard the reassuring _thud-thud_ of Taako’s heart. Angus scooted closer, trying to hear it better.

“See? I’m okay,” said Taako, the sound rumbling through Angus’s ear. Angus sighed, and it seemed to pull the emotion out of him, turning into a low sob as he clutched Taako tighter.

“Hey now,” Taako murmured, setting the cocoa down and wrapping his other arm around Angus. “Hey, you’re okay. We’re both gonna be alright.”

“I—I’m sorry, so sorry,” Angus sobbed, and Taako shushed him gently. “You have nothing to be sorry for, bubbeleh. You’re good. I’m good. That’s okay, get it out.”

“I’m sorry, I just—I dreamed that you w—were… _hurt_ , and it was _me_ that was hur—hurting you and Magnus and Merle and everyone, and I f—feel so bad and I’m so— _sorry,_ and it was awful because I—I love you all so _much_ and y—you were _dying_ and—”

“Hey, hey, it was just a dream, okay? Just a dream… none of that happened. You’re okay, you’re good,” Taako murmured as he ran a hand through Angus’s curls. Slowly, ever so slowly, the sobs quieted and turned into hiccupping gasps which eventually evened out into smooth, deep breathing.

Angus drifted, content now that he knew everything was going to be okay. He closed his eyes, the _thud-thud_ of Taako's steady heart and the hand in his hair soothing him more than he thought possible.

He did manage to stay awake long enough to hear Taako whisper, “Love you too, Angus.”


	3. A Regular Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More pseudo-oneshots because you convinced me.

When Angus woke up, his eyes were crusty and puffy, he was too hot, his mouth tasted gross, and he wasn’t in his own bed. He jerked upright in confusion— _oh, Taako’s room_ , he thought, relaxing. But where was Taako?

Angus looked around and frowned. He pulled the cloud blanket off reluctantly, because though it was the softest thing he’d ever felt it might also have been the hottest. Yawning, he walked into the little foyer/living room/kitchen that all Reclaimers had. He opened the door quietly. He had just enough time to process that Taako was staring at some pots hanging above the kitchen counter like he could burn through them with just the power of his eyes before one long ear swiveled in Angus’s direction, the rest of Taako’s head close behind.

“Hey, how’s the Boy Wonder?” Taako asked, smiling crookedly.

Angus knuckled at his eyes. “I’m… ‘m sleepy. And I need to brush my teeth.”

Taako nodded, affecting a faux contemplative expression. “Always a good plan of action.”

And then Angus said something without thinking about it. As soon as it was out of his mouth, he regretted it, because it was so out of the blue, and he was sure he was overstepping his boundaries, but he’d said it anyway.

“You used to cook.”

Taako’s shoulders tensed, his ears flattened back, and his eyes went half-lidded and hard, like brittle shards of glass. “Who told you that?” he said, obviously trying to act super casual, obviously failing.

_I’ve done it now,_ Angus thought, as he furiously tried to back out of the situation. “Uh, well—I kinda figured it out? I knew that you had a ton more cooking stuff than anyone else and you always look at the mess hall food like it personally jammed up your steez and sometimes you keep looking at the pots and pans? For really long amounts of time? And—”

“I get it, Agnes.” Taako said, voice flat. He laughed harshly, more of a bark than any expression of mirth. “Go on and brush your teeth. Come back at noon.”

With that he turned around, shoulders still hunched. One ear twitched in Angus’s direction.

Face burning, a pit settling in his stomach, Angus left the room. As he closed the door, he whispered in the tiniest voice of which he was capable, “I’m so sorry.”

* * *

True to his word, Angus came back at noon. He carried with him a huge sack, slung over his shoulders like Kringo the Candlenights gift-giver. His mouth was set in that peculiar cast of determination of which only young, idealistic children are capable. He had a plan, and _dangit_ , he was going to see it to fruition.

He knocked on Taako’s door twice, crisp and sharp like he’d been taught all those years ago. “Come in,” drifted Taako’s voice. Angus marched in, to be greeted by the sight of a completely empty room. He huffed. He didn’t have time for this, he wanted to say his piece. He quickly cast Detect Magic, and immediately an elf-shaped blob appeared to his right. He turned to face it.

“Taako, Blink back here, I want to talk to you right now.”

The blob cocked its head and put a vaguely arm-shaped appendage on its hip. Taako waited a moment, shrugged, and walked away from Angus.

“No! Ugh, Taako, for _once_ can we have a _conversation_ —” huffed Angus. He followed Taako until the goober had the gall to walk through a wall to get away.

“Oh, now you’ve really boiled my _beets, mis_ ter Taako!” the boy spat as he, too, cast Blink. The world stretched at the edges and fuzzed a little, until it was the familiar greyscale of the Ethereal Plane.

“Taako, come _here_!” shouted Angus with all the power in his little lungs. Detect Magic was still active, so along with the thin threads of magic that held this plane together there was clearly a Taako, clearly avoiding Angus. “Taako, you can’t stay here forever! I just want to talk to you, I swear!”

“I can avoid you all I want, Mister Has-No-More-Spell-Slots!”

“Oh _yeah?!_ ” Angus cried. “I may not have any more spell slots, but you know who does? _Merle_! I’ll bring him into this, you know I will! I’ll make him bother you with that music he likes until you talk to me!”

Silence. The blob began to fade as Detect Magic’s effects waned. Angus groaned, growing desperate.

“Don’t you even want to know what’s in the bag?”

Angus heard a small pop, and the vague smear that was his sense of Taako disappeared from the Ethereal Plane. He followed suit back into the Material Plane, readjusting the bag again. Dang, this thing was really heavy. He set it down and waited. He knew Taako. He’d come back.

Sure enough, Taako sauntered in a couple minutes later, looking completely unaffected but for the slightly curious gleam in his eye. Angus put a hand on his hip, looking perturbed, and for a moment he reminded Taako so much of the elf when he was a boy that Taako felt the air whoosh out of him.

“Taako, I’m sorry about what happened this morning.”

“It’s okay, boychik—”

“No,” Angus said, and held up a hand. “Let me finish.”

“Can I sit first? I get the feeling that you’re gonna give me a nice monologue, and I wanna make sure I don’t get swept off my feet.”

Angus scoffed, somewhat put out, but gestured for Taako to take a seat on the ratty living room couch. Taako looked up expectantly.

“Taako, if you’ll pardon me, you acted pretty weird this morning. So I did some digging and some detective work, and now I know what happened. No, let me _finish_ , you didn’t let me speak earlier so I get a turn, okay? Okay. So, uh—um, you’re going to teach me how to cook.”

Taako’s whole face crumpled in confusion. “What?”

“You—you interrupted me right in the middle, so all my words and things I had ready just flew right out my boy brain! You’re going to teach me to cook so you can enjoy cooking again!” Angus nodded, more reassuring himself than conveying anything to Taako.

“And, uh, I brought some… tools.” Angus opened the bag (helpfully provided by Garfield the Deals Warlock) and produced… a lot of food. Like, a lot of food. More food than should have fit in the bag. “You’re going to teach me how to make some food for myself and it’ll be really good and then you’ll get over your thing with cooking and then you’ll be happy again and you’ll stop having bad dreams!” Angus’s voice steadily rose in pitch, cracking at the end as he furiously pulled out more and more food from the bag. He sniffed, and paused.

“Got it?” he said, looking at Taako, and oh gods had he done something wrong? The elf looked… wrecked.

“You… okay?” Angus asked, as Taako scrubbed a hand over his face.

“Nope!” Taako sighed, lifting his head. He smiled, a bleak smile, a smile like an open wound. “But does it matter that I’m not okay? Also nope!”

They sat in silence for a long moment, until Taako decided he couldn’t take Angus’s hesitant sadness on his behalf anymore. “Let’s put the food where it belongs, hmm?”

Angus kind of startled, but he quickly regained his composure. “Uh—yeah, let’s! Okay!” He picked up a loaf of bread, ready to stuff his little arms with all they could carry, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, we’re wizards, right? We ain’t gotta move shit—I still have spell slots.” Taako smiled softly at him, and flicked his wrist. The whole bag lifted itself up, and the various food items inside floated to their respective places.

There was a heavy pause, as Angus hesitated about whether or not to speak up and Taako tried to work through the static that enveloped his mind.

“Hey, Ango,” Taako started, uneasy. “The only way this works out is if I teach you magic, and I teach you cooking. Separately. I’m not going to mix the two. Magic stays out of the kitchen, okay?”

“Got it,” Angus said, nodding vigorously. He had no idea what would have happened had the attempt to get Taako into the kitchen not succeeded, and he was frankly super surprised that it went as well as it did. Taako walked into the kitchen and took a deep, steadying breath. He turned around, and even though Angus was way too big for him to do it, he lifted Angus up onto the counter so he could see better.

“Alright, Agnes, first thing you have to know is mise en place…”

* * *

Magnus woke up to tiny hands frantically pulling at his sleeve. Reflexively, he leaped out of bed, terrified suddenly that someone was dying or the base was burning and he could almost hear the screams—

“Sir! Magnus, I need help!” came a voice from the level of his waist. Magnus looked down, relaxing, to be met by the sight of Angus. His eyes were red-rimmed, illuminated slightly by the small ball of flame he held in his cupped hands.

“What’s—what’s wrong?” Magnus asked, worried.

Angus only managed to get out “It’s Taako—” before Magnus scooped him up and started running to Taako’s room.

“Oof,” Angus said, grabbing his glasses before they fell off of his face.

“Tell me what happened!” Magnus said as he sprinted down the hallway.

“He’s—I don’t know, he’s having a nightmare!”

Angus felt Magnus’s arm tighten around his side as he abruptly dropped into a walk. “Did you try to wake him up?” he hissed, looking down at Angus.

“No, he was flailing and I didn’t want to get hit—”

Magnus let out a breath that Angus didn’t realize he was holding. “Good. Ango, he’s not having a nightmare, he’s having a night terror.”

“Uh,” Angus said, because he didn’t know the difference but he didn’t want to give the impression that he didn’t know the difference.

“Night terrors are different. You can wake someone up from a nightmare, generally, but if you wake someone up from a night terror they can get really disoriented and… it’s really bad,” Magnus said, pushing open the door to Taako’s room. He put Angus down, setting one massive hand on Angus’s shoulder. For his part, Angus reached up and grabbed a fistful of Magnus’s shirt

They walked into Taako’s bedroom, and immediately Taako screamed.

He was writhing on the bed, making running motions with his legs. Sometimes, he spoke in small fragments, almost always some variation of pleading—“No, no, _please,_ ” he mumbled after the horrible scream. “No, _gods,_ don’t—MERLE, NO!”

He made a stunted gesture like he was throwing a spell. “I can’t—why, _shit,_ ” and then he groaned, a terrible sound the likes of which Angus had only read about.

Magnus squeezed Angus’s shoulder. “Fuck, this is a pretty bad one,” he muttered, and then he felt Angus twitch. _Shit, he’s crying,_ Magnus thought as he knelt and gathered Angus into his arms. Angus wrapped his arms around Magnus’s neck, but kept his eyes forward, toward the bed.

“NOT MAGNUS!” Taako wailed, thrashing more on the bed. “NO, DON’T TAKE HIM!”

“Taako!” Magnus called. “Taako, you’re fine!” He kept talking, trying to comfort both the screaming Taako and the tearful Angus. “Taako, you’re okay, you’re safe. Angus, it’s okay, he never remembers what happens in his dreams, he’s going to be fine, we just need to give him time—”

Taako sat bolt upright in the bed. His eyes were wide open, and they reflected what light there was in the room, so they looked like they were glowing. He shrieked like the sound had been ripped out of him. “NO, ANGUS, _PLEASE!_ NOT ANGUS, ANYONE BUT HIM! No, no, no no no no _fuck_ stay with me! Oh shit, please don’t die!” He paused then. After a long moment, he let out a quiet, broken no. His shoulders dropped, his ears drooped, and his eyes rolled in his head as he fell backwards on to the bed and lay silent.

Angus sobbed into Magnus’s shoulder.

Fuck, Magnus had no idea what to do. Taako was probably going to be fine now, but Angus was still distraught, and lord knew he didn’t know how to fix a crying child.

“Angus, he was still asleep, he wasn't awake at all—”

“He _cares!_ ” cried the boy, clutching Magnus tighter. “He—he actually _cares!_ Oh g—gods, that’s terri—that’s really awful, to be glad that he was sc—scared. But—but he _cares_ about—you heard him, right?” Angus pulled away from Magnus’s shoulder to see his face, and his eyes were wet but they shone in the dim light. “I didn’t… I didn’t make that up?”

“No, Ango,” Magnus said, about—I mean, you heard him, right?” Angus pulled away from Magnus’s shoulder, just enough to see his face. In the dim light, Angus’s eyes were wet, but they were shining. “I didn't—I didn't make that up?”

“No, Angus,” Magnus said softly, and the corners of his eyebrows twitched down. “Of course you didn't. He cares about you way more than you know.”

“I… know that,” Angus replied, swiping at the tears on his cheeks. “But… it's nice to actually hear it from him, y’know?”

The covers on the bed rustled, and Taako’s head poked out. “What are you yappin’ about?” he asked, stifling a huge yawn.

Magnus sighed. He’d hoped to avoid this conversation until morning. “You had another one.”

Taako very suddenly pieced together Magnus’s presence in the room and Angus’s tears. He shot upright and threw off the blankets. “ _Fuck_. Did I hurt—”

“No,” Magnus cut him off, “you were only screaming. He’s fine.”

Everyone in the room heard Taako’s sigh of relief.

“So—uh, you really don't remember anything? At all?” Angus asked, kind of incredulous after a display of that magnitude.

“Not a damn thing.” Taako came over and knelt in front of them both. “Hey, bubbeleh, are you okay? Sorry if I spooked ya.”

“I'm fine now,” Angus said, and he let go of Magnus to reach out with one arm. “But I'd be even better if I had a hug.”

Taako rolled his eyes. “You fuckin’ nerd,” he groaned, even as he scootched closer to hug them both. “Don't know why I put up with you.”

“Yeah you do! I'm your very good friend!” Angus said, smiling and sniffing. Taako rolled his eyes harder, and called to Magnus.

“Ay, big lug, you get on up in here too.”

Magnus wrapped his arms around the both of them and squeezed gently. He sighed, too, and muttered, “I'm so glad you're both okay. You had me scared there for a minute, both of you.”

They knelt there for a long moment, until Taako broke the silence.

“Hey, Agnes, I don't know if it's the best idea if you stay here tonight. These things usually come in sets, and I don't want to hurt you accidentally.”

Angus seemed to shrink in their arms. “I really don't… I don't want to sleep alone right now,” he admitted.

“Wait,” Magnus said, drawing back. “This is a regular thing? The sleeping… uh, the sleeping in the same bed thing?”

“Uh… well, yeah, actually,” Taako said, flushing slightly.

Magnus smiled. “And you never invited me? I’m offended!” he huffed, not looking particularly offended at all.

Taako’s ear cocked. “Oh yeah, that makes sense. Ango, d’ya want to go with Magnus? The fucker’s like a living toaster oven and he’ll octopus all his limbs around you but you might like it.”

“Well…” Angus trailed off, mouth twisting as he considered. “Why… uh, why not both? I don't want to leave you, Taako, and if you have another night terror Magnus can make sure I'm okay.”

Magnus smiled. “Damn, Ango, I keep forgetting how smart you are. I like it. What do you think, Taako?”

A heavy pause. Taako considered, and then rolled his eyes. “Gods, I'm going to sweat so bad,” he muttered. Angus surged forward and hugged him again, his smile growing impossibly wider.

“Why am I doing this? I don’t even need to sleep!” Taako said, but he was smiling now that Angus couldn’t see his face.

“Damn, kid, don't get all mushy on me now.”

And he would never admit it, not for any amount of money under like 1000 gold pieces, but he was actually really looking forward to this.

It took a couple of tries, but soon they’d found a position in which they were all really comfortable. Magnus was T-posing in the middle, arms outstretched. Taako was on his right side, reaching across Magnus to put a hand on Angus’s arm. For his own part, Angus was curled up next to them, his head directly over Magnus’s heart. Taako had been right—Magnus was a fucking furnace, and Angus knew come morning he’d be wallowing in sweat, but honestly, the calming effect of Magnus’s arm around his shoulders and Taako’s hand on his arm made it all worth it.

Angus made sure to wait until he heard Taako’s breathing even out to grab his hand. And if it was his overactive imagination that felt Taako's hand squeeze back, then so be it.

**Author's Note:**

> my life is that post that's  
> angus: hello sirs!  
> me: i would die for you
> 
> i... might write more on this? i don't know. it's complete for now, but... it might become more complete... later??


End file.
